Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Ted Cruz shows he only cares about himself by not endorsing Donald Trump in GOP convention speech

By MARC McDONALD

From CNN on Wednesday night:

"Ted Cruz sensationally withheld an endorsement of Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, earning a chorus of boos from the floor before he was upstaged in a power play by the GOP nominee himself."

In many ways, Cruz is the ultimate modern-day Republican. A lot of Republicans are greedy and care only about themselves. But Cruz takes it to a whole new level. Despite his rhetoric, he doesn't give a damn about the Constitution, or the GOP, or the voters, or anyone but himself.

On Wednesday night, we saw exactly why Cruz has earned a lot of harsh criticism this electoral season (with much of the harshest attacks coming from fellow Republicans). Trump has told a lot of lies this campaign---but he definitely told the truth when he said of Cruz:

"He's a nasty guy. Nobody likes him. Nobody in Congress likes him. Nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him."

I know a lot of Republicans. Almost all of them are greedy and only care about themselves. They really don't give a shit about anyone else. Cruz is simply another example of the modern-day GOP mindset of "I've got mine, screw everyone else."

A good example of this mentality is an acquaintance of mine named Chris. He describes himself as a "rugged individualist," a Republican, and a "hard-core Libertarian." Chris claims to be strongly against ALL government spending with the sole exception of so-called "defense" spending.

If you didn't know the guy and had a conversation with him, you'd be under the impression that Chris lives in a remote cabin somewhere in the wilderness. You would think that he hunts his own food and digs his own well water and lives off the grid. You would think that, after listening to this self-described "rugged individualist." But you'd be wrong.

In reality, Chris is a retired government employee. For 25 years, he worked in what he himself describes as a "cushy" easy government office job. He enjoyed lavish benefits, like seven-week paid vacations that private sector workers could only dream of. Chris then retired in his 40s with a full government paid pension of $60,000 a year. That rock solid pension will be guaranteed until the day he dies, even if he lives to be 100.

All of this, of course, is paid for by taxpayers. Chris's government pension alone could eventually put a couple of million dollars in his pocket over the coming decades.

The bottom line is: Chris has a fantastic deal---all paid for by the taxpayers. His job benefits are vastly more generous than any private sector job I've ever heard of.

So you might think Chris would be a little bit grateful to the government that gave him a job (and the taxpayers who paid his salary and pension).

But the fact is, Chris has nothing but contempt for the government. And you'll never, ever hear anyone whine louder about having to pay taxes. If you let him, Chris will bend your ear all day about how he's supposedly "never" benefited from the government in any way.

I've known plenty of Republicans like Chris over the years. They talk a good talk about being hard-core "capitalists." And then they put on a pair of their best running shoes and run away to go to work in a cushy government office job for their entire working lives. Many of them, like Chris, are already retired and enjoying their cushy government pensions.

The reason I mention all this is that Ted Cruz reminds me of a lot of these people. After all, the taxpayers pay his lavish salary and the generous pension that he has to look forward to. But does Cruz have any gratitude to the government or the taxpayers?

No. Cruz doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself. Sure, you'll see him loudly whining about government spending. He would shut down the food stamp program tomorrow if he had the chance. But curiously, he doesn't have a word to say about one of the biggest drains on government finance: the lavish pay packets and pensions that government employees like himself get to enjoy. The fact is, a typical food stamp recipient, like a single mom with kids, only get a few thousand bucks worth of benefits a year (and a lot of them work full-time, as well).

Government employees like Cruz get literally millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded salaries and pensions over the course of their lives.

Indeed, Cruz is always whining about the IRS and vowing to shut it down. It makes me wonder if this dumb SOB has ever stopped to consider that, if it wasn't for the IRS, he wouldn't get a salary or a pension.

Say what you want to about Donald Trump. But he does seem to be aware of the fact that the government screws over the taxpayers to fund a lot of cushy (and let's face it, unnecessary) government jobs and pensions. Trump puts his money where his mouth is---he even has said he'll not accept his $400,000/year presidential salary if he's elected.

I very rarely agree with Republicans on anything. But I do have to admit, I wholeheartedly agreed with the Republicans who soundly booed Cruz at the GOP convention on Wednesday. They seemed to grasp a basic truth about Cruz: the guy only cares about himself and he doesn't give a shit about the Republican Party, (or indeed, who wins in November).

"Conservatives" like Cruz would likely defend his stance of "I've got mine, screw everyone else." But the likes of Cruz need to be reminded that it's We The People who pay his lavish salary and pension. This asshole works for us, whether he realizes it or not. If these people have such contempt for the government, then they need to quit their f*cking cushy government jobs and go get a real job in the private sector that they claim to adore so much.

Hi AltandMain, thanks for your note. I'm certainly no fan of Hillary. But I'd like to ask you: do you think it'd still be worthwhile to support her, not for her agenda, but if nothing else but for the sake of the Supreme Court? I think a lot of discouraged Sanders supporters are going to hold their nose and vote Hillary for this reason alone.

The answer is what will happen in 2020? If Clinton wins, she will have the same problem that Obama had in 2012, only everyone knows that she is economically and militarily right wing.

Her base will likely become discouraged pretty quickly. That could lead to a disaster, compounded by the fact that 2020 will be a census year (which is why 2010 was so devastating for Obama).

If Trump wins, he will likely be a one term president once his base realizes they have been sold a bill of goods.

There will always be Supreme Court of the US positions open. 4 or 8 years is a long time. Letting that get in the way gets the DNC a free pass to do whatever they want, which in Clinton's case seems to be to accept money from companies like Goldman and not release the transcripts. They'd probably be Clinton's 47% moment.

Hi AltandMain, thanks for the note and for your comment. You make some good points.re:>>everyone knows that she is economically and militarily right wing.I'm not certain that she is---but I do know that the real Powers That Be (who control everything, including the White House) most definitely are.Ultimately, the system is what's at fault. The system is very badly broken. I'd say that's been the case since around 1980. Things started going downhill under Reagan and then the Dubya years were a bullet in the heart of the nation.

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About This Blog

Welcome to BeggarsCanBeChoosers.com, the progressive political blog of Marc McDonald. A Texas journalist, McDonald worked for 15 years for several newspapers, including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, before he quit his day job and set up shop in cyberspace in 1995. McDonald's articles have appeared in a number of popular progressive Web sites, including Crooks and Liars, The Reaction, Buzzflash.com, Salon.com, OpEdNews.com, The Neil Rogers Show and The Raw Story. McDonald's Web articles have also been featured and reviewed by various national and international media, including CNN Headline News, the BBC, CBS, the Washington Post, USA Today and many more. On June 3, 2011, I was interviewed on the progressive radio program, "Voices at Work." Go here to hear my interview with host Ron Gonyea. I am always available for media interviews on progressive issues. Contact me here.